Preceding the Present
by FerventFantasist
Summary: When Emiko thought she was going to live a – finally – tranquil life with her family, she gets lost in a forest and apparently gets sucked back to the past CENTURIES ago! Now, what is she going to do when she meets the first generation of the Vongola family, and most importantly – how will she get back home?
1. Wandering Around was a Terrible Idea

**_The bold words on the announcements are those that I've written just now, as in now in 2014._**

**Alright... so I've decided to submit my first story...! Well... after a year and a half at least... *sweatdrops* Haha, anyways... I hope you guys enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn in any form, nor in any way; I only own the story, the plot, and the original characters found here. All rights belong to their respective owners.**

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Chapter 1: Wandering Around was a Terrible Mistake

**_Emiko's POV_**

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH, SOMEBODY HELP!" I screamed as the suit-wearing baby shoots me with his gun… "Stupid sadistic baby," I muttered; unfortunately, he had heard it.

"Who're you calling stupid?" Reborn asks, smirking.

"NO ONE," I shout defensively, "stop it, Reborn; please, I'm begging!" I shouted as tears start forming in the corner of my eyes. I ran around the corridor, trying to dodge the bullets.

"If you will agree to join us, then I'll let you go…" he says.

"Fine, fine, I'll come – just stop shooting!" I reply, not bothering to let him finish.

"… For now," he continued, his smirk never leaving his face. I paled, '_Argh… I should've let him finish first!'_

"I'm glad you know," Reborn says as he stops shooting me and the gun changes back to Leon. I panted as I fell down to the floor, leaning against the wall.

"Emiko, Rebo- HIIEEE! REBORN WHAT DID YOU DO?" Tsuna shrieks as he comes up the stairs and sees the bullets on the walls. Reborn could only smirk.

"Emiko and I were just _playing,_" he said innocently. _'Playing, huh?'_ I thought sarcastically, _'Reborn really does love to torture Tsuna and me, doesn't he?'_ Reborn looks back at me, his smirk wider. I twitched; I was itching to remove that smirk from his 'oh-so adorable' face. Reborn's smirk only grew wider… WAS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?

"Let's see if you can, Emiko." He said then went downstairs. Tsuna looked at me worriedly.

"Keyuki-san, are you ok?" Tsuna asked me.

"Well, other than the part that I was just shot by several bullets, I'm _perfectly_ fine." I told him sarcastically, complete with a matching smile, as I stood up and dusted my clothes. He sweat dropped. I looked at him. He stared. I blinked.

"Aren't we going to go yet?" I asked him. He seemed to snap out, and nodded quickly. We went downstairs and out the door, then going into the limousine owned by Dino – who was apparently coming, too – where everyone was waiting. There was Maman, Bianchi, I-pin, Fuuta, Chrome, Kyoko, Haru, and other people that I do not even want to bother mentioning.

Tsuna and I went inside and sat down; apparently, the seat was next to Kyoko and Haru. They began telling me about the cake they brought. I twitched as all they talked about were about cakes. I admit, I _do_ like cakes and sweets and… yeah… but that doesn't mean I'm obsessed with them as much as these two were!

When we finally reached the place we were going to have the picnic, I immediately pushed Tsuna out of the way and went outside, falling on the grass.

"WOOHOO, FREEDOM!" I hollered out happily – listening to Kyoko and Haru talk about cakes for two hours straight can make anyone go crazy.

"OI, STUPID WOMAN! WHY DID YOU PUSH JUUDAIME?" Gokudera inquired irately just as he got outside. He was about to throw his dynamites at me, but Yamamoto and Ryohei took hold of him. "Let go of me turf top, baseball freak!" He yelled. Yamamato only laughed, while Ryohei started an argument with him, to which he responded rashly.

* * *

**_Normal POV_**

Tsuna could only sigh as Ryohei and Gokudera started fighting again; he looked back at Emiko and sweatdropped as she was twirling around like a dancing ballerina – was she really _that_ happy to get away from Kyoko and Haru's conversation?

"Dame-Tsuna," the said boy heard a familiar voice say.

"What is it, Reborn?" Tsuna asked looking at him.

"Go and prepare the picnic." Reborn said then started walking away.

"WHY ME?" Tsuna asked. Reborn looked back at him, smirking. He pointed his gun at Tsuna, who could only pale. "HIEEEEEEE! I'LL DO IT, I'LL DO IT; JUST DON'T SHOOT ME!" Tsuna dashed to prepare the picnic, leaving a smirking Reborn.

* * *

Tsuna finally finished preparing – of course, with the help of his friends.

"Finally, we're done!" Tsuna said, wiping a sweat from his forehead. He was very ecstatic during that moment of glory, not to mention starving.

"Hahaha, can we eat now?" Yamamato asked.

"Shut up, baseball freak; Juudaime deserves to eat first!" Gokudera yelled.

"GYAHAHA! Lambo-sama wants to eat, now! Feed me dame-Tsuna!" Lambo said as he pounced on Tsuna. The soon-to-be mafia boss fell to the grass.

"STUPID COW, GET OFF OF JUUDAIME!" Gokudera yelled, pulling Lambo off and throwing him to the ground.

"Gotta… stay… calm…" Lambo kept on repeating, while tears filled his eyes, until he started wailing and took out the ten year bazooka out and landed on him. They could see pink smoke. Tsuna and the others coughed while trying to move the smoke away from them. When it was gone, adult Lambo was there. He smiled at Tsuna.

_'Arrg, stupid Lambo!" _Emiko thought._ 'I wonder how the future guardians and Tsuna even put up with him!'_

"Nice to see you again, Young Vongola," Adult Lambo said, raising his hand up. Tsuna just smiled at him kindly.

"How's the future?" Tsuna asked and Lambo seemed a bit anxious; Tsuna gave him a confused look. "What happened?" He asked. Everyone was now staring at him – well, everyone except Emiko, who was still coughing a bit and had no interest in listening to the conversation. Adult Lambo looked at the said girl, everyone following his gaze. Emiko, being the oblivious girl she was, did not notice.

"Did… Did something happen to Keyuki-san?" Tsuna asked, getting more worried every passing second. Adult Lambo was about to speak when…

"ROMEO!" Bianchi yelled, poison cooking on both her hands. Adult Lambo paled then ran away screaming. Emiko, finally noticing, looked up.

"What the heck happened?" Emiko asked, completely oblivious to the serious atmosphere a few moments ago. She looked up at Adult Lambo and sweatdropped as Bianchi finally hit him, making him trip, before pink smoke came out again, revealing Lambo sucking a lollipop. With that, Bianchi frowned confusedly before leaving. She didn't notice the worried look Tsuna was giving her. Emiko looked at him, finally noticing Tsuna's worried gaze. "Is something the matter, Tsuna?" Emiko asked him. The said boy seemed to flinch, making Emiko suspicious.

"O-oh, there's nothing, nothing at all!" Tsuna said, laughing nervously. Emiko was getting more suspicious, but decided to let it go. "Alright…" She left to get some food.

Tsuna watched his family – Emiko took the food that Gokudera was going to take and ran away smirking, with him yelling at her and Yamamoto laughing while trying to stop Gokudera from throwing his dynamites. Ryohei kept on eating while saying how 'extremely' good the food was. Kyoko and Haru kept on chatting while eating some cake. Lambo, I-pin, and Fuuta were eating some sweets and pastries; Nana watching over them, laughing at their childish behavior. Chrome was eating by the tree alone, but Tsuna could tell that she was also happy. Dino kept on failing without his subordinates, as usual. Hibari was on another tree with Hibird, and Bianchi was feeding Reborn who was in her arms.

Tsuna couldn't help but smile, his family was happy, and so was he. But… his smile disappeared, turning into small frown; he couldn't help but think about what Adult Lambo was going to say. He didn't notice a certain Arcobaleno watching his actions from afar.

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**_Emiko's POV_**

"Yum! That was delicious!" I said. I looked at everyone, they were all so happy. I sighed then shook my head. I was happy, really happy; this doesn't happen all the time because of the fact that we were in the mafia. We couldn't go on normal occasions like this picnic.

I closed my eyes and let the wind blow my hair – wishing that this was going to last forever. I opened my eyes again before standing up and stretching my arms. When I was done, I saw, out of the corner of my eyes, something shiny in the forest. I was curious as to what it was and couldn't help but follow it; I didn't notice, however, that I was getting deeper into the woods.

I noticed that the shiny thing had disappeared. I looked around and paled. _'Oh my gosh… I'M FREAKING LOST!'_ I thought, panicking, looking around. I started hyperventilating. This only happens sometimes… don't bother asking why… Wait – maybe I'm just exaggerating right now.

I tried to calm myself down by taking deep breaths. I stopped doing that and was determined to find my way back. I started walking to the direction I started walking from, not knowing that it was the direct opposite.

* * *

An hour had past already; I still haven't got back yet! It was already noon, and I'm getting scared… Did I mention that I was afraid of the dark? No? Well boohoo, at least you're not in my situation!

I sighed, and sat down. I leaned on the tree behind me. _'I'm such an idiot!'_ I thought. _'This wouldn't have happen if I just stayed with the others! Just when I thought that everything was ok… THIS happens!'_ I bit my lip. _'No… I'm not going to give up!'_ I stood up and started walking again – I still hope that the others would find me... I looked around; I heard sounds of water… I might be close to a waterfall! I quickened my pace, and what I found was… amazing… There was a crystal clear lake with a waterfall. It was truly beautiful.

I crouched down and looked at my reflection. I slowly reached up to the water. I froze, my eyes widened. '_What the…'_ I thought. I-I couldn't move!

Suddenly, I felt as if someone pushed me in. I shuddered when an eerie laugh began ringing through my ears – was my mind playing tricks with me? Then, I heard someone shout my name. I looked to side and found Tsuna staring at me with wide eyes. I just smiled at him, as if reassuring him that everything would be alright; and with that, I fell completely in the pool of water.

I wanted to swim back, though, for an odd reason, I felt like I couldn't go back – it's as if I was trapped inside the water. I looked down and saw a light. I began to feel… sleepy.

I unconsciously curled myself into a ball and closed my eyes before everything dissipated into black.

* * *

I groaned as I opened my eyes slowly. I sat down and rubbed my eyes. I looked at my surroundings… I was _still _in a forest; oh, how sick I am of this wretched place right now!

I looked at my clothes. I raised an eyebrow – they were wet… but that's not what made me raise my eyebrow; it's that… I'm sure I wore a simple hoodie, shorts, and knee-high boots, _not_ a white dress. What? I don't do dresses – they're itchy… and now I'm getting off topic. Moving on, there was only one thing in my mind…

"What the heck just happened?" I asked.

As soon I spoke those words, I felt something fall on my head; I looked down… and saw an acorn.

I can't believe that an acorn ruined my special moment!

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So, I've had this idea for quite some time now, and my hand was just twitching to type it! I didn't really find many stories about this sort of idea with an OC as the main protagonist, so, I decided to write my own! :D Anyways, please do tell how it was :) I would love to hear about all of you ^^ [2013]

**Alright, so I'd like to tell you guys that this was an idea from a _very_ long, long time ago – as in since 2012… and then I wrote it last year *sweatdrop* I only came back to it now… Hahaha ^w^;; I didn't delete the previous author note since it's still the same as what I would write now. Anyways, I fixed the story a bit so that it'd be presentable to you guys. I hope you guys enjoyed it; tell me your feedback, 'kay? I'd like to know whether I should continue this or not. Also, if you guys see any mistakes in my grammar or punctuation, _please_, don't hesitate to tell me as I want nothing more than to improve… Much thanks from me :)**


	2. So, I'm in Italy Now… Wait… What?

So, here's the next chapter :) I don't have much of an announcement here, but please tell me if ever I'm somehow making the characters OOC, considering the fact that I don't know the much yet; I'd like to be able to fix that as I type up the future chapters.

P.S. I changed the name since I thought that it would be confusing if the title was the former one… since the first thing you'd think off would be in the future, due to the fact that the title says 'Once in the Present, Now in the Future'. I just hope the new one's better, at least.

Enjooooy!

**DISCLAIMER: **I definitely do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn in any way, nor in any form; I only own the story, the plot, and the original characters found in the story. All rights go to their respective owners.

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Chapter 2: So, I'm in Italy Now… Wait… What?

_**Emiko's POV**_

I started walking around the forest, but I was still cautious about my surroundings. I heard some twigs being cracked, and I immediately looked around in a defensive stance. I found a squirrel getting the acorn that fell on my head. Aww… so cute – I shook my head; I should be more concentrated on finding my way out of this stupid forest.

"Argg… Why does this always happen to me?" I asked myself as I continued walking. I sighed. Fate was cruel.

While I was walking, at times I would trip on the roots, which was horrible since I was wearing this white dress (which, mind you, just popped out of nowhere), making me look all dirty – I'm sorry… I'm sort of a clean freak. I was also wondering why my boots disappeared, and now I was walking barefoot… oh well, I guess that it will stay as a mystery – ok, you know what? I'm going to stop talking about how my clothes magically changed.

I walked around; I looked up at the sky. It was already morning. Was I walking for that long already? Strange, I remembered that it was still night when I got lost… **(1)** I decided to shrug it off and continue walking.

* * *

Hours had already past and I still have yet to find my way out. I sighed, and sat down below the tree and leaned against the tree trunk. I looked up at the sky again. I smiled; although it was kind of lonely here, and being in a forest just makes it worse, it was still beautiful sight, and it just gave me some strength to move on. I stood up and started running – I'll get out of this forest!

After a few minutes of running, I found some light, I grinned and started to run faster; I guess that running from Reborn can do something good after all.

I reached the end of the forest, I couldn't help but smile, but what I saw just shocked me… My eyes widened – what in front of me now was… the Vongola mansion… A question suddenly popped out in my mind.

'_Wait…'_ I thought. A record being scratched was heard in the background as my jaw dropped. _'How the heck did I get all the way from Japan to ITALY?!' _The question kept repeating as the imaginary record in my mind continued being scratched.

I shook my head then went in front of the door. I opened it quietly and looked around. Well… this felt… awkward. I've been inside this mansion for a few times, and I'm _sneaking_ inside it. But, for an odd reason, I couldn't help but feel cautious. I stepped forward quietly.

I started walking inside it until someone _handcuffed_ me; I looked up and saw a flash of blonde, before I felt a hand hit me on the back of my neck.

Well this just sucks; this is the _second_ time I blacked out, not to mention some random guy just handcuffed me!

* * *

I woke up and groaned in pain as I held my throbbing head. I opened my eyes and looked around; I was lying on a soft bed. I propped myself up and got myself in a proper position. Maybe… maybe everything that happened was all just some random dream… Maybe… Tsuna and the others found me? I closed my eyes and sighed, but… I opened my eyes. The dream felt so real… I looked around and frowned. I wasn't in my room, nor was I in Tsuna's house… and I'm sure I'm not in the hospital.

I looked away and sighed again, letting my hand run through my mane and letting a few strands of it fall on my face. I knew that Tsuna didn't find me… well he did, but it was too late – not that I'm blaming him or something; it was my fault for being stupid and wandering away from the picnic… but I couldn't help but wonder where I was. I remembered what happened, about the blonde man freaking handcuffing me… Wait… was I still handcuffed? I looked at my hand – it didn't have any handcuffs anymore! I smiled with great joy as I stood up… only to fall back down on the floor. I twitched; although my hand wasn't handcuffed anymore… my ankle was chained to the bed, for Pete's sake! I groaned.

"Why is my life so miserable…?" I muttered, putting my head on my hands. I froze when I heard voices – no wait, scratch that, _unfamiliar_ voices speaking to each other in slight haste, as I've noticed by their manner of talking.

I was really curious as to what they were talking about, so I crawled towards the door until I couldn't proceed any further due to the limit from the chain. I peeked through the ajar door and felt my face lose all of its color when I saw the subjects of my curiosity.

'_U-ugh… is that G-Giotto…? A-and G…? And even Asari?!'_ I began to back away from the door, _'T-this can't be possible… they're supposed to be dead!'_ I felt tears spring from eyes, _'Don't tell me they're GHOSTS!'_

My eyes dilated at the thought, sweat trickling from my forehead and dripping off from my chin, _'Pull yourself together, Emiko – ghosts are _definitely_ not real!'_ I took a deep breath before expelling it from my chest, along with the fear of ghos – you heard nothing… Ah the heck with it; it's obvious, anyways.

'_Yes… ghosts aren't real, and you're just imagining things… once you pinch yourself, everything would faaade into black… and then you'd wake up in the comfort of your bed, finding out that this all just a bad, bad dream.'_ I smiled, nodding at myself, _'Yes… this is all just a bad dream,'_ I grinned before pinching myself, before reopening my eyes again, eager to find myself in the vicinity of my friends… and Maman's cooking.

That is… until it shattered down into pieces once I found out that I was still in the exact same position as I was in before. The corners of my lips twitched as I realized that this _was_ real.

"Eh? Why am I still here?!" I whined quietly, "Maybe it would work if I slap myself…?" I did as I told myself; unfortunately, I had slapped myself a little bit too hard and accidentally grumbled out

"OWW!" I yelped, before immediately covering my mouth with my two hands, eyes widened in self-astonishment as I cursed myself in my head. I heard the shuffling sounds of footsteps coming closer to the room I was in before it was opened abruptly by an irate-looking redhead, followed by a calm blue-head and an all-too-familiar blonde. They eyed me with genuine curiosity, the redhead also tinted with vigilance. I, however, spent my time gaping at them like a fish, before I regained my composure and took deep breaths repeatedly.

"Alright… these people aren't real… and you are just in some weird case of hallucination… Wait… what if Mukuro's the one who's doing these strange illusions?!" I cursed Mukuro silently, still oblivious to the fact that these so-called 'illusions' _were_ real.

A chuckle caught my attention as I looked back and stared at the only blonde of the group, "You seem like a very eccentric young lady," he replied, smiling gently.

I narrowed my eyes, "You're just an illusion, so you've got no right to tell me that." He seemed to be perplexed at what I said, judging by the furrowing of his eyebrows – HA, these illusions are really good actors!

He looked as if he was supposed to say something, when the G 'illusion' immediately intervened, "What do you mean illusion?" his eyes narrowed, "Maybe you're a spy sent here to kill Primo," I gasped in annoyance as a vein popped out from my forehead.

The 'supposed' swordsman began to pacify – no, _tried_ to pacify us calmly, "Maa, maa, we shouldn't be fighting much, ne?"

I glared at the redhead, "I'll show you!" I stood up and began marching towards 'Primo', the three giving me confused looks. I finally stood in front of him, a look of confidence in my eyes and a sparkle of curiosity glinting in his eyes. I smirked. I raised my hand and let it hit his cheeks, satisfied as a loud sound reverberated throughout the whole mansion from the strong impact.

Silence followed as both the Storm guardian and Rain guardian gawked at us, with Primo having his eyes slightly wider than usual; all of them had one emotion flickering in their eyes – bewilderment.

I smirked in triumph – that is, until I realized that the slight sting from slapping the guy in front of me was still lingering on my skin. My eyes widened, _'The feeling's still there… wouldn't that mean that he – no, _they_, are actually…'_ I looked back at Primo, seeing that he had a hand placed on top of his red cheek, _'R-real…?'_

I felt my face blanch.

'_Oh shi-'_

* * *

I held my head down and was staring at the steaming cup of tea in front of me, my face flushing in both embarrassment and shame. The sounds of laughing reverberated throughout the room; a certain seaweed-haired lightning guardian was literally rolling on the floor, while a melon-headed illusionist Daemon was snickering at the unfortunate luck of their boss. Asari and Knuckles coughed, trying to suppress their chortles, while G was trying to repress his smirk. Alaude wasn't here, so I didn't have to think about him anymore – I also figured out that it was him who handcuffed me… which was quite obvious due to his love for handcuffs, but could you blame me? I thought that I wasn't here in this era in the first place, and – you know what? Never mind.

Giotto sighed as he placed a tube of ice covered with cloth on his now-bruised cheek, all the while rubbing his temple, "Everyone… I think it'd be best to move on, so we could have a proper conversation with this young lady," he sighed once again as they didn't seem to listen to him… either that or they just ignored him.

Daemon's laughter died down before he smirked at Primo, "Nufufu, I didn't know that a girl would actually do such a thing to you, _Primo_," he then looked at me, his smirk growing wider, "Oya, oya, what a feisty lady you are, hm?"

I blushed profusely, stammering as I uttered my words, "I-it's just because I thought h-he wasn't real, and just a mere illusion!" The melon-head – I mean, illusionist, just chuckled.

"Oh, is that so?" He asked, a hint of mockery hidden in his words. I puffed my cheeks, all the while crossing my arms.

"Hmm… for a lady, you seem quite childish for your age," G mentioned. I twitched at him, narrowing my eyes dangerously.

"Dare say that again, and I'll…!"

Giotto just smiled at us before clearing his throat. We looked at him, just as I was about to smack the fiery red-headed man. "We haven't gotten your name; would it be rude of us to ask you about so?" I abruptly sat down in my original position before shaking my head politely.

"It's… Emiko – Keyuki Emiko," I replied.

"Oh, so it's nooow you become courteous," a certain Storm guardian snorted, while I just rolled my eyes at him.

'_Man, these guys are just like… Tsuna and the others,'_ I felt a pang of melancholy in my heart as I remembered my friends, _'Are they… even searching for me right now?'_ Anxiety began oozing through my veins as I thought of pessimistic musings in my mind. I got snapped out of my reverie as I heard another question being queried.

"Why don't you tell us about yourself then, Keyuki-san?" Asari suggested, smiling kindly.

"Mm… Emiko's just fine, no need for formalities," I replied almost instantaneously, "Err… What should I begin with then?" I questioned myself, rubbing my chin for effect.

"How about you start on how you stumbled by our mansion then?" Giotto answered, and I flinched a bit, not knowing what to say – fortunately, none of them had noticed it; it'd be best if nobody accused me of being a spy… like what a certain octopus did.

"Ah, well…" I was contemplating in my head about what I should say, when a sudden scream from the town nearby caught our attention.

My gaze turned serious as I stood up due to my instinct and ran towards the door, not bothering to wait for them any longer. I looked back at the others, "I think it would be much better if we continued this conversation later," I didn't bother waiting for their reply before I pushed the doors open and ran to the nearby town.

'_Introductions would be continued later… hey – at least I'd be able to think of what I could say to them, right?'_

* * *

**(1)** Well, just for those who don't know it yet, Italy and Japan have an 8-hour gap in their time zones, with Japan being the earlier one of the two; so, if Emiko was in a forest in Japan, and was then sent to the past in Italy, that would mean that she would be sent 8 hours later than the current time in Japan… But, I'm not really good with these, so feel free to correct me if I'm wrong :)

Err… Sowwy~ it didn't go as much as I had planned for it in my head… and if the humor's so dry… and for the fact that it's not that long QwQ I'M SORRY ABOUT EVERYTHING. *bows* Anyways, I thought it would be better if I just stopped it right there, so… yeah! :D I'll _try_ my best to make the next chapter longer… Keyword: TRY.

Also, here's a forewarning – there's a 99% chance that there'll be fighting scenes in the next chapter, so please forgive me if I'm not that good in making those scenes, as those would probably be my first fighting scenes ever. I'd just like to tell you guys, so that you could prepare tissues for the possible bleeding from my horrible fighting scenes OTL *hides in a corner*

Okie, so I hope you guys enjoyed it :) Also, feedback would be muuuch appreciated! If you guys see any errors, please tell me, 'kay? ;)

Byeeee! :D


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